Amazement
by Sawbo1
Summary: The 1oth Doctor and Donna respond to a distress signal sent out by an old friend who needs their help to escape from a tight spot. This one story is a series of mini adventures- often rather silly but fun.
1. Chapter 1

**Amazement!**

**Chapter 1:**

As Donna walked back into the console room, she saw The Doctor busy flicking switches, kicking at buttons, and dancing crazily round the central column, which was rising and falling purposefully. He hardly glanced at her as he called out

"Grab your coat – we're going out!"

"Where are we?" She asked, as she obediently reached for her leather jacket, lying where she'd flung it earlier. His answer was lost, as the Tardis lurched to a halt with a loud 'thump'. They both staggered and clutched at anything stable. Without waiting for her he grabbed his long coat and dashed to the door. She caught up with him, as he sidled out….

They emerged into what looked like a long white featureless corridor. It was about five foot wide, and to their left stretched endlessly away into the distance. Donna realised there was no ceiling above them. All she could see overhead was blue sky with a hint of cloud. She turned to her right. In this direction the corridor came to an abrupt halt about twenty feet from where they were standing. Crouched against the end wall was a young man – a boy even. He was watching them with no trace of surprise – in fact he looked quite pleased to see them!

The Doctor started to walk towards the boy, saying,

"Oh! So it was you!"

Donna felt completely at sea.

"Doctor!" she hissed "Where are we? What's going on? And who's that boy?"

The Doctor ignored her for the moment, and stood, hands in pockets, looking down at the boy.

"Hello Alph!" he said. "Long time no see!"

The boy got to his feet, sliding his back up the wall behind him.

"It is you Doctor, isn't it? You look….different!"

The Doctor tugged at his ear,

"Yeah, as I said, long time!"

The boy looked at Donna, and gave a deep sniff.

"Earth woman – very distinctive smell!" he said.

"Oi!" retorted Donna, as much annoyed with The Doctor for not explaining anything, as with this boy's manners.

The Doctor suddenly seemed to remember his.

"Donna meet Alph – we go way back! And Alph – this is Donna Noble, from Earth, as you so rightly smelled!"

Alph nodded at Donna, before turning back to The Doctor.

"I hoped you'd get my message – wasn't sure after all this time! I've kept it, just in case – brought it in here with me - 'cos if there's anything you could help me with, it's this place!"

He had produced what looked to Donna exactly like a cricket ball, and held it up for them to see.

"What is it?" she asked.

The Doctor gave her a puzzled look.

"It's a cricket ball Donna! I used to be quite keen on cricket at one time – don't seem to have the enthusiasm these days!" he mused. "So what's the urgent problem you thought it was worth calling me across several galaxies for?"

"It's The Maze!" Alph explained "I can't find the way out!"

The Doctor looked dumbfounded. "You sent an intergalactic distress signal because you're lost in a maze? I know I said if you ever needed assistance – but to get you out of a _maze_?"

"Not _a_ maze, Doctor – it's _The_ Maze! I've been in here for about two years, and I'm running out of options!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The Doctor had decided to pop back to the Tardis to 'pick up one or two things'. Donna and Alph were sitting down, backs to the wall, waiting for him to return.

"How long have you been travelling with him?" Alph asked her. "He's amazing, isn't he?"

Donna nodded, a half smile on her face, "Pretty amazing, yeah! Um… a while." She added in answer to his first question. It was difficult to keep track of time when you were travelling in the Tardis.

"When did you meet him?" she asked in her turn.

"Oh, about ten years ago – I was only a kid when he was here – he was really kind to me, especially after my dad…." He trailed off.

Donna looked at him with some sympathy. It was never easy, losing a parent.

"Where are we?" she asked. "The Doctor never said!"

"This," he said with mock grandeur, "is the planet Frelux, home of 'the greatest culture this side of Ressimer 5'! Not that you exactly get to see much of it in here!" he added ruefully.

"Right!" said Donna, none the wiser.

He laughed.

"I think it's a great distance away from the Earth. I'd never met anyone from Earth till The Doctor came back with his friends, a year after the war ended. That was a quick sightseeing tour – he only dropped in to say hello, and show them the Floating Towers, I think. They were very impressed!"

The Doctor reappeared in the corridor, still in the act of shoving all sorts of 'junk' into his pockets.

"So, you've been here before?" Donna prompted him.

"Yep," he said, coiling some thin string and stowing it away somewhere in the interior of his coat.

"Helped them sort out a little local difficulty when Alph here was a mere lad!"

"And popped back later for some sightseeing, apparently!" she added.

"Oh yes – The Floating Towers – make sure I show them to you before we leave!" he urged her, with one of his enthusiastic grins. "They're brilliant!"

He crouched down in front of them

"Now" he turned to Alph. "Tell me what exactly you are doing stuck in this maze, or whatever it is!"

Alph explained that he had been cast into The Maze as a punishment for what he described as 'Anti – Establishment Activities' If he could make it out in one piece, he would be entitled to an Official Hearing, at which he could put his case.

It seemed that very few who set foot in there were ever seen alive again. He had been working through the puzzles and traps within The Maze for the past two years, and had reached the point where he felt he needed some expert assistance. Hence his distress signal, picked up by the Tardis.

Donna looked from one to the other.

"So, what do we do – jump in the Tardis and re-materialise outside The Maze? Sounds straightforward."

The Doctor shook his head.

"I checked when I went back in. There's an energy field, preventing all forms of teleportation out of The Maze. There are pockets which allow passage in – which is how we got here – presumably for the authorities to use when they wish, but the only way out is to legitimately beat The Maze."

Donna thought for a minute.

"I remember my Dad taking me to Hampton Court Maze when I was small. He let me run all over the place till I was really lost and getting scared we'd never get out. He showed me if you keep your hand on one wall and follow it round without breaking contact once, then eventually you get to the outside, and the way out!"

"Won't work in here!" said Alph. "I tried that the first day – watch"

He stood up held his hand against the right hand wall, and started to walk slowly forwards past the Tardis. He looked over his shoulder

"You'd better keep up!" he called back to them.

They jumped up and followed close behind him.

Just after they had passed the Tardis there was a sudden hissing sound, and the corridor in front of them suddenly disappeared, replaced by another of the smooth white walls. To their left, an identical corridor to the one they had been walking down had opened up. Donna looked over her shoulder.

"Doctor", she said quietly.

He turned to see what she was looking at.

The corridor behind them had also been closed off.

There was no sign of the Tardis!

The Doctor sprang back to the wall which was now shielding the Tardis from view. He spread his hands against it, and began feeling over the surface. He then turned his attention to the edges of the wall and the join between floor and wall.

"It feels completely solid! No sign of any draughts at the edges!"

He took out the Sonic and worked at the joins and corners for a moment or two.

"Nothing! No sign there's a way through at all!"

"I shouldn't worry about the Tardis, Doctor. The Maze reconfigures like this several times a day." said Alph. "She'll pop up in front of us again before long. Believe me, I've done that section of corridor about ten times today already! At least this section is fairly safe – it just gets a bit boring after a while!"

He looked down the corridor, stretching away in front of them.

"I think this part is where there's an access point to my Pod. I could do with a proper sit down, and something to eat, while I talk you through some of the features in here!"

He set off at a brisk pace down the corridor. Donna and The Doctor looked at each other. There didn't seem to be much option.

"I think we'd better keep up with him" suggested Donna "We don't want another of those 'reconfigurations' to separate us from him until we know what's going on here!"

The Doctor nodded, and they started after him.

After what seemed like a hundred yards or so, Alph motioned for them to stop.

"It's somewhere here – bear with me a minute!"

The corridor still looked completely featureless, and Donna couldn't see how he knew he was near what he was looking for. She watched as he began to search the wall, much as The Doctor had done. He placed his hands spread wide against the wall, and put his ear to the surface, biting his lip in concentration. He looked a bit like a safe cracker from an old film, Donna thought, listening for tiny clicks and clunks as he worked the lock.

She looked at the Doctor, leaning against the wall beside her.

" So – he said this planet's called Frelux – and you were here before, right?" she spoke in a low tone so as not to disturb Alph's exploration.

The Doctor nodded, whilst watching Alph's progress against the far wall.

"So…"she continued " where is it? And when?"

"Oh…it's far far across the universe from Earth – no-one's travelled this far from there yet. And its…ooh about five hundred years after your time, I'd say"

"He said the last time he saw you was about nine years ago, with some friends. Was that Rose?

He said you'd changed a lot since then."

The Doctor shook his head "Not Rose, no. It 's nine years for him, but for me its….much much longer than that!"

At that moment they saw Alph stiffen and take a large round disc, which was hanging from his neck on a chain, and hold it against the wall. At once there was a hissing sound and an open doorway appeared in the wall. He grinned and beckoned them to follow him through it.

They found themselves in a small white room, containing a simple bed, a chair and table, and something which seemed to combine computer and vending machine against one wall. Alph went straight to this and held his hand against some sort of touch screen. This prompted a series of flashing lights, and bleeping sounds, which lasted for about ten seconds. The machine then went quiet, and Alph pressed a series of buttons on the part that resembled a vending machine. In a moment or two, a bottle and a plate of something were deposited on a tray underneath. Alph picked these up and brought them to the table.

"I'm sorry, it's only programmed for one" he explained "so we'll have to share – I ordered a large portion though!"

The Doctor was studying the machine intently.

"Neat!" he said at last. "Bio –scanner, life support, and canteen service!"

"Yeah," said Alph "It checks my vital signs each time I call in – they wouldn't want me succumbing to a simple cold or anything" He smiled ruefully.

As they shared the drink, and the plate of what looked like mashed potato, but tasted more like fruit, The Doctor began to quiz Alph about The Maze, what it consisted of, and how one was supposed to gain freedom. Alph explained that the Maze was organised into different sections, which needed to be navigated in order to find the way out. The first section, which they'd encountered already, was open to the air above, and was frustrating and confusing, but held no real danger, it seemed. The other areas each held particular challenges, and failure to overcome these tended to throw one back to the outer, white walled section, to start all over again. That is, if one survived the particular peril one had encountered. The nature of the inner sections of The Maze seemed to be ever changing, so one learned little from each sortie, which could help on subsequent visits.

After dinner Alph said he needed a short sleep, as he'd been walking the corridors for hours, before calling The Doctor. The others remained at the table, while he curled up on the bed.

"The first time you came here….." Donna enquired, "….he said something about his dad?"

The Doctor sat staring into the distance as he saw again the events of his first visit here.

"There was a war. An invasion of the planet. Alph's people – the Freluxians- were bravely defending their world, but then it was discovered the Trellites – their enemies, had traitors working at the highest level in the Freluxian Government. They planned to deliver their whole people as slaves to the conquerors. Alph's father was a brave man – died exposing the traitors. We laid a trap for them- offered to show leniency if they agreed to cease their betrayal – but they refused. In the end, we had no choice…" he trailed off with a deep sadness in his eyes.

Donna knew he saw resorting to violence as failure. She placed her hand over his.

"Alph said you were very kind to him, after he lost his dad."

The Doctor brightened a little, and looked over to the sleeping Alph.

"He was a good kid – just gave him one or two pointers – and a cricket ball!"

Alph didn't sleep for long, and they were soon back out in the corridor. They continued in the same direction they had taken earlier, leaving the Tardis further behind – although Alph said it may well appear ahead of them at any time, if there was another reconfiguration. They walked for about five minutes, down the long featureless corridor.

Then suddenly, there was a loud CRACK!

They were plunged into darkness.

After a moment or two, Donna saw the lights were beginning to come up. She looked upward – the sky had been replaced by a low brown ceiling. She looked around her, and to her horror realised she was totally alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

She looked around her, fighting the urge to panic.

The walls of this corridor were brown like the ceiling, and were as featureless as the white corridor she had been in a moment ago. Behind her was a solid wall with no hint of a way through, but ahead of her –about thirty yards away -was a single red door. She waited a moment, reaching out to the nearby walls to check they were as solid as they looked, before taking a deep breath and walking slowly towards the door.

The Doctor and Alph were standing in a small space, rather like the inside of a lift. The walls were blank – with no sign of a door. There was a low ceiling above them now, just above the height of The Doctor's head. He looked around him in a whirl

"Donna! Donna! Donnaaaaa!" he yelled, his voice bouncing straight back at him from the crowding walls. He whipped out the Sonic and played it over all the surfaces, finding no hint of a way to break through.

"I don't think she'll be able to hear you!" supplied Alph. "Noise never seems to pass through these walls!"

After a minute or two, The Doctor gave up trying to find a way out, and sank down to the floor, resting his back against the wall. Alph joined him.

"If there's no way out, then either we wait for a reconfiguration, or for ….something to happen".

The Doctor looked at him.

" Something being….?" he queried.

"Could be anything really …and probably not good!" was Alph's reply.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

Nothing happened.

The Doctor started to get a bit twitchy. He hated being useless and immobile – especially when someone potentially needed his help.

He put his head back against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. This was Donna Noble, he reminded himself. Woe betide anything that tried to inconvenience her! He smiled to himself, despite his frustration. He turned his head to Alph.

"As we're stuck here, you could start telling me who created this Maze, and how come you got yourself thrown in here"

Alph sighed.

"It's a long story! After you left us, the Government of the Second Republic set about trying to ensure they were never again in the position of fighting spies and traitors from within our own society. They passed all sorts of laws which meant citizens could be monitored wherever they were, and whatever they were doing. They threw huge amounts of money at developing the technologies to help them to do it -and also at developing ever more complex punishments!"

"Like The Maze?" supplied The Doctor

"Like The Maze!" agreed Alph.

"So how come you ended up falling foul of the system?" prompted The Doctor.

"I believe people are entitled to a bit of privacy" Alph continued. "A group I belong to have been looking for ways to avoid surveillance –not for anything political –just to allow people space to be themselves once in a while. They caught up with me at this club I run –realised I was one of the founding members of the group –and decided that I should suffer the full force of the law. As an example to others, I guess. So – The Maze it was!"

The Doctor nodded – he had never taken interference by authorities well himself.

He looked around the room, wondering how long they had before 'something' happened.

Donna reached the red door at the end of the corridor. She took a deep breath, exhaled quickly, then breathed in deeply, before reaching her hand out gingerly and grasping the smooth round handle firmly. There was a small 'click' as it turned. She bit her lip, and pulled the door towards her.

Ahead of her was a small lobby area, with an identical door directly opposite her. Between her door and the one opposite were a number of green laser beams shining at angles across the space.

She fished in her pocket, and pulled out a crumpled tissue she found in the lining. She gently lobbed it into the space, so that it fell through one of the beams. There was a green flash of light, and all that was left of the tissue were a few burnt pieces of ash, floating to the floor.

"Great!" she said out loud.

She turned and looked down the corridor behind her. Nothing had changed. She felt around the doorway looking for any hidden buttons or catches. Nothing. She studied the inside of the lobby, but could see nothing helpful. She had just about given up trying to find a way through, when there was a loud 'thwunk!'

Instantly the laser beams all disappeared. For a moment Donna stood frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do – then a panic that they were about to switch back on spurred her forwards, and she leapt across the space, grabbed the opposite door handle and yanked it open. She was through the door and shutting it behind her before the decision had fully formed in her mind. She found herself in a long corridor, identical to the one she had just left. There was a door behind her, but otherwise nothing but brown walls and brown ceiling, stretching away before her.

The Doctor and Alph became aware of a low whirring noise somewhere within the walls around them.

"Looks like we're about to experience your 'something' after all!" said The Doctor, looking around for a clue as to what was happening.

They realised, a moment later, that the whole room was beginning to tip. Their feet, as they sat leaning on a wall, began to rise up as if the room was pivoting round a central point. Before they had a chance to scramble into a better position, the wall behind them suddenly gave way completely.

They tumbled head over heels through the hole and continued sliding and rolling down a sloping tunnel, before dropping down through some sort of trapdoor. The Doctor came to rest on something soft.

Well, mainly soft…

A very familiar voice growled

"Get your elbow out of my stomach Doctor! And that's my ear you have your foot stuck in!"

The Doctor shook himself, and pulled himself to a more upright position.

"Just thought we'd drop by, you know!"

The look in Donna's eye showed how glad, despite her protestations to the contrary, she was to see him!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They took a moment or two to untangle themselves. No-one seemed to have sustained any injuries beyond a few superficial bumps and bruises. The trap door through which The Doctor and Alph had fallen had closed itself, and no trace of it remained. They scrambled to their feet and looked up and down the corridor. No features except the door through which Donna had come.

She described what had been on the other side of the door, but Alph assured them that in all probability, there had been another reconfiguration since she had closed the door, and it would be worth having another look.

He briskly strode up the corridor, and flung the door open wide. The small lobby was there, but no sign of the lasers Donna had encountered.

"Leave it a minute!" she called after him. "They seem to switch on and off".

As they stood watching the far door seemed to lift up into the ceiling, joining the lobby to the long corridor, which now led away into the distance. It seemed to be sloping downhill, which was not as Donna had remembered it.

"I'm not surprised it's taken him two years to get nowhere!" she mused. "Nothing in here stays the same for more than five minutes!"

Alph had stepped forward into the second corridor. With a sudden rumble a huge stone ball dropped from the ceiling almost blocking the corridor, and separating them from Alph. It teetered for a moment, before slowly starting to roll down the slope towards where Alph was standing. It continued down the slope, gaining momentum. If Alph wasn't a superb runner, he was going to get flattened very quickly.

"No way!" cried Donna. "Indiana Jones in Space!"

The Doctor stood rubbing his neck agitatedly, concerned for Alph, but unable to do anything from their position behind the great boulder.

"Well, a rolling ball works in pretty much any trapped-in-a-tunnel situation. Spielberg never got intergalactic patents on it!"

"Can't we do something to help?" Donna asked, also at a loss to see what help they could be.

"Just hope something comes up his side, I guess!" replied The Doctor helplessly.

They stood and watched the receding ball rumble on down the corridor. To their great relief, no flattened mass that might once have been Alph appeared in its wake.

Alph had frozen to the spot as he heard the first rumble of the ball dropping from the ceiling. He looked over one shoulder, to confirm what he suspected.

"Not the ball!" he thought. "I could do without the ball right now!"

As the thought formed in his head he was already leaning forward and starting to run. One advantage of having been in The Maze for two years was that he was now incredibly fit. Running seemed to have played a large part in most of his days –that and climbing. As the ball gathered pace behind him, he speeded up and sprinted down the slope. All the time, his eyes darted from one side to the other, looking for any sign of a get-out.

He had encountered the ball twice before. The first time an alcove had appeared in one of the walls, giving him space to shrink away from its path, and the second he'd dropped down a convenient hole in the floor, and seen the ball rumble harmlessly overhead.

His lungs began to ache as he gasped for breathe. He couldn't keep this up much longer!

Suddenly the corridor seemed to open out ahead of him, and he found himself running into a large chamber. In front of him stood a group of about ten huge objects, wider at the base, and then narrowing to a thin neck, several feet above his head.

"Skittles!" he thought, and veered immediately round one of them, and off to his right.

With a huge crashing sound, the ball connected with two of the skittles. They were knocked clean off the ground, and fell against their neighbours. The ground shook as the giant pieces tumbled in all directions.

As Alph cowered against the far wall, he saw one of the skittles falling towards him….

The ball, having wreaked its havoc, rolled to the end of the chamber, and dropped down a hole in the floor.

The skittles eventually ceased rolling around, and silence fell.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The Doctor and Donna had started to walk slowly forward, following the stone ball. Both had the same idea - that in this place geography could suddenly change, leaving the corridor sloping in the opposite direction – towards them!

The sickening 'crash' as the ball hit the skittles reverberated back up the corridor, as the ball disappeared from sight. As one, they ran forward, hardly daring to imagine what they would find.

The Doctor reached the end of the corridor first, and skidded to a halt. As Donna panted up behind him, he took in the sight in the skittle chamber.

There were still two or three skittles standing on the left hand side of the chamber, but the others lay scattered across the floor. The Doctor looked around, desperately looking for some sign of Alph.

Donna, peering over his shoulder, suddenly cried

"Over there!" and ran past him to where Alph lay crumpled by the far wall.

They crouched beside him, Donna close to tears, and The Doctor staring intently at his young friend. He rummaged in his pockets, and came out with his glasses, which he whipped on to his nose, and the Sonic Screwdriver, with which he began to scan Alph's body.

"He's breathing! he said, at last.

He continued to scan.

"No broken bones as far as I can see –but that's a very nasty bump on his head!"

"We must try and do something!" responded Donna, with the relief obvious in her voice.

"I think the best bet is to try and get him back into that Pod of his. The Bio scanner in there should be able to respond to his needs, better than we can" The Doctor decided.

"I got the impression that you can access it from various points around The Maze," he continued. "We just have to find one!"

"How are we going to do that? demanded Donna "All the walls in here look the same!"

"Donna, you saw him searching for it before –feel the walls and listen for a change of frequency! And take his identity disc, or whatever it is, to open the door if you think you've found it."

The Doctor went back to scanning Alph's legs and spine, to see if he'd missed anything.

Donna sighed, and carefully lifting the disc over Alph's head she stood up, and looked around.

She spotted a small corridor in the corner of the chamber, and decided to start there. She began to feel her way along the wall, hands outstretched, as she'd seen Alph do earlier. She put her ear to the surface, and realised that there was a low background hum from inside. For several minutes she eased herself along the wall. There was no sign of any change in the sound she was hearing. She realised that the corridor had turned a corner, and looking ahead of her she saw that it came to an end. The whole of the end wall was a mirror. She continued to work her way towards it. When she reached the end, she turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror, feeling rather despondent.

Her reflection smiled back at her. It wasn't a very pleasant smile, she thought. Her reflection suddenly turned its back on her, and walked off down the corridor away from her, disappearing round the bend. Donna stood rooted to the spot.

"Your reflection can't just walk off!" she thought, before realising that she couldn't move a muscle! She was frozen to the spot!

The Doctor had eased Alph over on to his back. His breathing was still regular, and he didn't seem quite as deeply unconscious as he had at first. He hoped Donna would find an access point to the Pod soon. He'd feel happier using a medical scanner designed for Alph's particular sub-species of human.

At this point, Donna appeared at his shoulder.

"Any luck?" he asked without looking up.

"Yeah, it's just down there, I think!"

She jerked her head in the direction she had come from. She crouched down beside him.

"Doctor – I'm really shattered – could do with a sit down myself! Why don't we leave him here to sleep it off, and go and get a drink or something?"

"Donna – don't be ridiculous! We can't leave him in this state!" he shot her an irritated glance. "So where is the entrance then?"

She put her hand between his shoulder blades, and applied a light, almost caressing, pressure. "You said yourself there's no great harm done!" she chided him.

"Come on, we could both do with a rest!" and she raised her hand to his head and began to gently ruffle his hair.

He removed his glasses, and slowly turned to look at her full on.

What had happened to his best friend?


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The Doctor looked at Donna for a few seconds, then back at Alph. He seemed to be no worse, and could perhaps be left for a short while, whilst he got to the bottom of this. He shrugged off his coat and laid it over the unconscious boy.

"Ok" he turned to Donna "So which direction is this Pod in then? I suppose we should make sure we can get into it before we try to move him"

Donna smiled in return, and stood up, beckoning him to follow her. He smiled his most charming smile and got up to follow her. Once he was walking behind her, his expression changed to one of consternation.

Donna started to head down the small corridor she had investigated earlier. The Doctor caught at her arm.

"You came back from this direction, so the quickest way must be down here, don't you think?" he suggested, nodding to a second tunnel leading away at a different angle.

Donna didn't look best pleased, but allowed herself to be ushered in this new direction.

They walked along the tunnel, which unusually seemed to have doors at regular intervals. The Doctor, following behind Donna, tried the handle of each door as they passed, but each seemed locked. From time to time he put his ear to the wall, listening for the change in pitch of The Maze's background hum. Eventually they came to a point where another tunnel branched off to the left. Donna made to walk straight past it, but The Doctor stopped and peered along it. He put his hands to the wall on one side of the entrance, and listened intently, before repeating this on the other side.

"I think we should go down here!" he called out.

"There's a difference in the resonation I'm picking up."

Donna looked back

"No Doctor – you really shouldn't go down there – it's this way!"

The Doctor caught up with her, grabbed hold of her arm rather more firmly than she would normally have stood for, and swung her back round in the direction of the entrance.

"So what do you think is down here that we should be avoiding?" he asked as he propelled her ahead of him into the tunnel.

Donna didn't reply, but still seemed reluctant to keep moving.

They walked on for a few minutes, before Donna stopped stock still, just before they came to a corner in the tunnel. Despite urging from The Doctor she refused to move. He sidled past her and was about to peer round the bend when she abruptly hissed

"Don't!" in an almost threatening manner.

The Doctor looked at her. She hadn't had that particular expression on her face since the time she had thought he had abducted her on her wedding day.

He looked back towards the corner –no harm in being cautious, he thought. He fished around in his pockets and came up with a rectangular object, about the size of a large packet of biscuits. It had a complex arrangement of mirrors attached to either end. Carefully he held it against the wall, and slid it forward so that one end protruded around the corner. After a moment, when nothing happened, he put his eye to the mirror on his end. As he stared, his expression changed from curiosity to astonishment, and then to anger, as he saw Donna standing motionless, apparently reflected in the mirror at the end of the short corridor ahead.

He turned to Donna behind him, with a look like thunder.

"What have you done to her?" He demanded.

The Donna behind him laughed smugly, and unpleasantly.

"She's nothing but a reflection! Just leave her, and follow me!"

With that she turned and began to retrace her steps to the main tunnel. The Doctor slipped the Sonic out of his pocket, and flipped the setting with one hand. He hoped he'd got the measure of what had happened here, or this could go horribly wrong. With one fluid movement he swung himself round the corner, aimed the Sonic at the centre of the mirror and activated it.

There was an ear splitting crash as the mirror shattered into thousands of pieces. Behind him, an identical sound was accompanied by a shrill scream.

Then there was silence.

As the dust settled he looked at where the mirror had been. Donna was stirring, and shaking herself as if waking from a trance.

She looked at him for a moment before yelling

"You flippin' took your time! I've been stuck here for hours! Couldn't move a muscle!"

With that she flung herself forward and into his arms. As they drew back from the embrace she asked

"How did you know which was really me? She looked exactly like me!"

"She didn't smell right, for a start," he explained. "Alph is right –Earth humans do have a specific smell! And then she…."

"She what, Doctor?"

"She started flirting with me!" he confessed.

Donna looked at him

"Well don't think that's ever going to happen again, Spaceman!"

He smiled back at her.

His best friend!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They started back down the corridor –The Doctor was anxious to get back to Alph as quickly as possible. As they walked, there was a sudden hiss, and The Maze reconfigured itself again.

They found themselves standing together in a small room, again about the size of a lift. The walls seemed to be padded with leather, studded at regular intervals with large leather covered buttons. The colour was a rich dark green. They looked around for a moment or two, and then stood facing each other, waiting to see what was coming.

"It's like being in an oversized armchair" commented Donna.

"Or a padded cell" rejoined The Doctor.

After a minute or so, there was a small 'plunk' sound, as one of the buttons popped out of the wall, and rolled on to the floor. It exposed the end of a metal tube, open into their space. As they looked, a long musical note played – sounding rather like an old steam organ at a fairground. The note continued to play –one long sound.

"What is it?" asked Donna "Is it blowing some sort of gas in?"

The Doctor bent down and sniffed at the hole.

"Don't think so"

He looked puzzled.

Then another button popped out, this time behind The Doctor, hitting him in the back – but with no great force. A second long note began to play from this hole, creating a discord with the first. A third button popped, this time at the side of the cubicle, and a third higher note joined the chord.

Donna put her hands over her ears

"Eeoww!" she cried "That hurts!"

The Doctor nodded in agreement. The notes seemed designed to rattle one's brain. He experimentally put his hand over the end of the first tube, and it ceased to play, making the sound just that bit more bearable. He reached out to the far wall and covered the third hole. This too went silent, leaving just the single note from behind his back playing.

They had just sighed with relief as their ears recovered, when a fourth button popped out of the wall, this time behind Donna. Instantly the discord began again. Donna reached behind her and covered that hole. For a moment all was well, then more buttons began to pop out of the walls all around them. They covered each hole as best they could –occasionally swapping positions to cover as many as possible – using hands, feet, and any other body part that could be brought into service. If they allowed more than one hole to remain uncovered at any one time the noise resonated at a painful level.

Eventually, there seemed to be no more popping buttons. The Doctor experimentally lifted his knee away from a hole low down on the wall. It immediately began to play its note again. He replaced the knee.

"Do we stand here like this forever?" Donna asked ."Because I'm getting a crick in my neck!"

They were by now standing in strange twisted shapes, almost entwined in their attempts to block all the holes at once. Donna suddenly became aware of a shuddering and shaking next to her, and turned her head as far as she could to look at The Doctor.

His face was only inches from hers, and she realised he was struggling to keep a straight face. As their eyes met he looked almost apologetic

"I'm sorry, it's just….!"

At that she too got the giggles, and they both gave way to gales of laughter. This in turn caused them to lose their balance, and they fell into a tangled heap on the floor.

For a moment or two, the noise was almost deafening as all the holes played out their various notes, and then there was a hiss, and the room disappeared –to be replaced by the corridor they had originally been walking down.

They both gasped for breath for a few moments, then The Doctor leapt to his feet.

"Come on! Alph's been left alone for far too long!" and led the way back to the skittle chamber at a brisk pace


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

They found Alph where they had left him. He was coming round, and was trying to get his arms out from under The Doctor's coat. The Doctor retrieved the coat, and helped Alph to sit up.

"You OK?" he asked him, looking him over carefully.

"Eurgh!" Alph groaned. "My head's killing me -but I think I'm OK."

He rubbed his face and head with both hands, wincing as his hands made contact with his injuries.

"Alph – is there an entrance to your Pod anywhere near here do you think?" asked Donna.

"Shouldn't be far" he mumbled, then suddenly clutched at his chest "My key!"

"It's all right, Donna has it!" The Doctor hurriedly explained, helping the boy to his feet.

"I think we were near it down this corridor!" he added, guiding Alph towards the tunnel where the mirror had been.

A few minutes later they were all safely inside the Pod. Alph had been scanned, and no great harm discovered. He had retired to his bed for another rest, and Donna and The Doctor were tucking into a snack of crunchy noodle-shaped sweet biscuits, and something approximating fruit tea.

"I don't think I will ever get used to alien food!" remarked Donna.

"You should try some of the space rations used by Earth explorers in your future. They give up describing it as any particular food substance – just call it 'Protein 3' and so on!" he told her.

She pulled a face "Is that as disgusting as it sounds?" she asked.

"Pretty much!" was his response.

When Alph was feeling stronger, they sat and considered what to do next.

"We need to find a way to get into the next section of The Maze." explained Alph. "In amongst all the physical dangers in this section, are some areas where a task is set, and I've always assumed that if you pass those, you get to the next section. This is really as far as I've ever got. That's why I knew I needed help Doctor."

"What sort of tasks?" asked Donna

"There are a variety – some mathematical problems, some memory tests, some physical skill tests – all sorts. And I don't think I've met them all yet" he told them.

"You get one try, and if you fail- it's back to the white corridors you saw earlier.

The Doctor grinned "Well – you have me now – I'm brilliant! Passed recreational maths in record time! And as for general knowledge-weeell!"

"Watch it Bighead!" grinned Donna, although she was well aware he would almost certainly be their greatest asset in any task they might face.

After about half an hour, Alph assured them he was ready to try again, and they left the Pod together. Finding one of the tasks Alph had mentioned proved to be more difficult than they had thought. It seemed they had no choice but to wander the tunnels looking for something different, or waiting for a reconfiguration to happen around them. They stayed close together to avoid being separated again.

Donna was beginning to flag when they finally turned a corner to find the tunnel ending in an open doorway into a room lit by an eerie blue light.

"Right!" said The Doctor rubbing his hands in anticipation. "Let's see what we're in for today!"

They all entered the room cautiously, to find it completely empty except for a screen mounted in a wooden box , standing about six foot high. Below the screen was a lever which could be moved up, down, left or right, and a large red button.

"It looks like an arcade game!" said Donna in surprise.

The Doctor stepped up to the screen and studied it. He whipped out his glasses, and studied a small printed notice to one side of the screen. After a moment he straightened up, held his hands out in front of him, and flexed his fingers, a broad grin spreading across his face.

"What is it?" Alph asked urgently.

"Pub Quiz!" answered The Doctor.

He wiggled his fingers a last time, before grasping the lever in one hand and decisively pressing the big red button to start the game.

The first set of questions appeared to be mathematical, as numbers and letters appeared on the screen, connected by various symbols – some of which Donna recognised from her school days, and some of which meant nothing to her. With a frightening speed The Doctor selected what appeared to be multiple choice answers using the lever, pressing the button when he reached his target. All the while he had a look of intense concentration on his face, his mouth slightly open and his tongue pressed against the back of his teeth. There must have been about ten separate questions, after which the screen lit up with flashing lights, and klaxons blared in some sort of fanfare.

The Doctor looked from one of his companions to the other, looking delighted with himself.

"See! Brilliant!" he said.

The next category appeared:

'_**Freluxian History'**_

"Oh!" said The Doctor, sounding a little disappointed.

"Alf –maybe you should step up for this round! I'm a little vague on some periods!"

Alf sidled past, and took over the controls. The Doctor, peered over his shoulder, unable to resist the urge to join in.

The first question came up on the screen.

'_**Which ruler of Frelux was responsible for the first treaty of Phlot, signalling the start of the First Great Republic?'**_

Alph quickly selected the name 'Artois' from a list available on the screen.

The Doctor pulled at his ear, and waggled his head from side to side.

"Weeell- I wouldn't say 'responsible for' myself. He was more of a figurehead….."

Second question:

'_**Which architectural features were described by Oms as the thirteenth wonder of the Modern Age?**_

"Don't tell me- Floating Towers?" suggested Donna.

"Very good!" acknowledged The Doctor, as Alph selected the answer from the list.

Alph made his way through eight more questions, with The Doctor muttering a running commentary over his shoulder.

"Very nice man!…Was it that early?... I always mistrusted him!..."

The end of the round was met with more lights and klaxons, and Alph looking quietly pleased with himself.

The third round appeared to offer a choice_**. **_

'_**Traditional Cookery' or 'Natural History'**_

Alph looked blank, so The Doctor took over again. He selected Natural History, and the first of the questions popped up. This time it was Alph's turn to peer over his shoulder. It seemed that he did know a little about his planet's natural history, and after discussions between the two of them about the natural habitat of the Stort vole, the favourite foods of the Arctusian bear, and the mating habits of the Lesser Winged throte, they reached the final question.

'_**Alien Species And Their Planets'**_

announced the screen.

Pictures of various sizes and colours of planets appeared in a row at the bottom of the screen, with their names printed underneath.

Above them was the picture of a bloated green being in a loin cloth, which appeared to have the outlines of several extra faces across its torso.

"Oh! Clom!" cried the Doctor, quickly selecting the planet of that name from the list.

Next up was a creature which seemed to be nothing but a large brown head with tentacles all round it.

"Got you, old friend!" The Doctor smiled, and clicked on a large planet at the end of the row.

This was repeated with six more creatures, some of whom The Doctor greeted as old friends, or growled at under his breath. As the ninth creature appeared he called

"One for you Donna!" and stepped away from the screen.

As she looked she saw a creature with bald head, small eyes, and a bunch of reddish tentacles hanging where you might expect a mouth to be. She smiled, and found the planet labelled 'Oodsphere', and pressed the button.

The Ood was replaced at the top of the screen by a humanoid man, dressed in a cream suit with bright orange trim, and a v-necked jumper.

"Wha –hey!" crowed Alph.

The Doctor leaned over Donna's shoulder, operated the controls quickly, saying

"Moving on!"

As this was the end of the round, they were treated to the lights-and-klaxon routine.

Donna shot a look over her shoulder at The Doctor.

"Who was….."

She was interrupted as the now familiar hissing sound filled the room, and the end wall behind the quiz machine sank into the floor, revealing a second chamber, bathed in a golden yellow light.

"At last!" cried Alph, moving into the new space. "We did it!"

The Doctor followed him, putting his glasses back in his pocket as he walked. Donna sighed. Would she ever really know what went on in that mind of his?

She joined them in the yellow room


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As they stood together in what appeared to be an empty room, there was a hiss as the wall behind them was raised back in to position. The only feature in the room was what looked like a tannoy, high up on the far wall.

"Now what?" asked Alph.

"Have we got through to another section or is this more of the same?"

The Doctor stood with his hands in his pockets, and rocked on his heels

"I should imagine time will tell!" he said.

As he spoke, the tannoy crackled into life.

"Congratulations on gaining entry to the Forest Zone!" said a clipped voice.

Alph shrugged in answer to The Doctor's raised eyebrow. He had not been here before.

"You have four hours to cross the Forest, and open the Great Door." continued the voice

"In a moment you will receive detailed instructions on how to open it. You must commit these to memory. The message will be relayed only once!"

There was then a series of clicks, and a whirring sound, as if a tape was being loaded into a machine.

Donna clicked her fingers urgently at The Doctor.

"Paper and pen!" she hissed.

He rummaged around in his pockets for a moment before producing a crumpled handbill of some kind, and a blue crayon with a rather chewed end.

Donna just had time to roll her eyes heavenward before the tannoy began to recite a list of mechanisms and how to work them. She turned the paper over to its blank side, held it against The Doctor's left shoulder blade, and began scribbling madly. Eventually it had finished and the tannoy crackled into silence again.

"I didn't get half of that!" said Alph worriedly.

Donna flourished her paper at them.

"Shorthand! Now who's brilliant?"

The Doctor grinned back at her. Always travel with a temp from Chiswick, he thought. She shoved the paper deep into her pocket

At that moment the wall with the tannoy began to shimmer, and disappear. Beyond it was a thick forest, stretching away into the distance in all directions. A single path led away amongst the trees.

"Well," said The Doctor

"I suppose we'd better get moving, as there's a time limit."

He gestured towards the path.

"Allons y!"

They stepped out of the room, and on to the forest floor. The ground was dry, and covered in dead leaves, although the trees were still covered in dark green ones. As they walked along the path, the trees seemed to close in around them, and the light became gloomy.

Donna shivered.

"I don't suppose you have any idea how big this forest might be?" she asked Alph.

He shook his head.

"This is all new to me!"

"It's very quiet for a forest" commented The Doctor.

"Is that because it's a construct of The Maze do you think, or has the wild life been driven away?"

He was right –apart from the sound of their footfalls, and the occasional snapping of a twig under their feet, there was complete silence. Donna shuddered again.

"Thank you Doctor! All I needed whilst walking through a creepy forest, is someone suggesting something might actually be scaring things away!"

He was strolling along, hands in pockets.

"Oh c'mon! Isn't it exciting waiting to see what's in store for us?"

They walked for perhaps an hour, during which time the light seemed to diminish even more.

"I think it must be nearly night" suggested Alph.

The Doctor suddenly stopped still in his tracks, and appeared to be listening.

"What is it?" hissed Donna.

He held up his hand.

"Shush! Can you hear that?"

Donna and Alph listened intently. At first they heard nothing, then gradually they became aware of a hissing sound, somewhere behind them.

"Is it another reconfiguration?" asked Alph.

The sound seemed to be getting louder by the second.

"No – this sounds more….." began The Doctor.

He was interrupted by a several small creatures erupting from between the trees behind them. They were airborne on long skinny wings, and shot past and up into the sky above them. The sound of beating wings was now almost deafening, as the creatures were joined by hundreds of others, who swooped around them, filling the air with their small brown bodies.

A couple of them became tangled in Donna's hair, and she flailed about trying to shake them off. Others started tugging at The Doctor's coat tails, and yet more seemed to be trying to land on Alph. It seemed that as well as wings they had long skinny arms, which they used to hang on, and to tug and to twist. Donna screamed as one tried to land on her face, and The Doctor fell to the ground whilst trying to shake a couple off his leg. Alph tried to help Donna free her head of the things, whilst beating the air around himself to keep them at bay.

Suddenly, as one, all the creatures stopped attacking them, rose a few feet into the air, and then flew off through the trees. Donna and Alph looked around them in puzzlement, then looked down at where The Doctor lay at their feet. Between his teeth was a small silver whistle, and his mouth wore a broad grin.

"Dog whistle!" he said by way of explanation, as he scrambled to his feet.

"Did you notice we couldn't hear any cries? I think they must operate on a very high frequency –so I thought the whistle was worth trying. Seems to have worked for the moment – but I can't guarantee they will stay away for long!"

They dusted themselves down, and set off again, listening out for the return of the strange winged creatures.

A few minutes later The Doctor motioned for them to stop. They could hear the hissing of the hundreds of pairs of wings now, coming towards them through the trees. The Doctor looked around them quickly, and called to the others,

"Over here!"

He led the way into a clump of bushes to one side of the path. They found a small space between the branches, and crouched there close together. The Doctor had pulled a ball of string from his pocket, and quickly wound it around some of the branches, forming a rather random web over their heads, and in front of them. As the creatures appeared through the trees, he lobbed something into Donna's lap.

"Remember this?" he grinned, as he fished the dog whistle back out of his pocket, and held it near his mouth. Donna looked down to find a bright yellow water pistol nestling between her knees.

"Oh yes!" she grinned back at him, grabbing hold of it, and preparing to shoot.

"Alph – if you shake the branches, and try to fend them off – and Donna –use that sparingly. We can't refill it here! Come on!"

And with that the creatures attacked.

Alph shook as many of the branches as he could reach, to prevent them grabbing hold, The Doctor blew hard, and continuously on his whistle, and Donna took pot shots at any creatures that came near to breaking through the tangle of branches and string.

After a few minutes it seemed that the number of creatures attacking had lessened, and gradually the number dwindled yet further, until at last the attack seemed over. They cautiously crept out from their hiding place, and stood listening for a few moments.

All was silence once more. It was almost dark now, and what light there was had taken on a silvery hue. Donna assumed it must be moonlight.

"I think they may leave us alone till morning," said The Doctor. We should get a move on –make up for lost time!"

They got back on to the path, and continued on their way.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

As they walked on through the forest, Donna looked about her, still afraid the flying creatures might return. After a while she began to believe that The Doctor had been right, and they'd retired for the night. The forest looked quite beautiful bathed in the silvery moonlight. It actually seemed brighter now than when they first emerged from the bushes. Much brighter than moonlight on Earth, she thought, and said so out loud to The Doctor.

"Twin moons!" he explained.

"The second one follows the same path as the first, but an hour or so behind. It means it's darkest just after dusk and just before dawn. When both moons are shining, it's almost like daylight. We've probably got about an hour more of this light, before the first moon sets, and we're left with one again."

"So how long have we been in here?" Donna queried.

"That thing said we'd only got four hours – but if you think it's not long till dawn-are we too late?"

"No no no! We've been in here about an hour and a half, by my reckoning, and dawn itself is probably about – ooh-three hours away. We just have to reach the Great Door half an hour before that!"

Alph interjected at this point

"We don't even know how far it is! Or whether we're meant to stay on the path, or look for another route!"

"Not losing heart are we?" replied The Doctor.

"I'm pretty sure The Maze wants us to go in this direction –it hasn't given us any options to choose from! And it must be possible…"

"Doctor!" Donna clutched at his arm.

"Look! Over there!"

Between the trees there appeared to be two small red lights, about three feet off the ground. It was difficult to gage how far away they were in the moonlight. As they looked they realised that there were other sets of lights further away than the first. Slowly the first set blinked…..

"Oh Frel! Narkwolves!" cried Alph

"Run!"

His two companions needed no second bidding. Alph was ahead, having had a fraction of a second's head start, followed close on his heels by The Doctor, with Donna a pace or two behind. She risked a glance over her shoulder, and wished she hadn't. Gaining on them rapidly were half a dozen or so hairy creatures, looking like a cross between a bear and a wolf. She saw a flash of enormous teeth, somewhere below the glowing red eyes of the leader of the pack.

As her head snapped back round to the front, The Doctor suddenly veered to one side and left the path.

"This way!" he cried, heading off between the trees.

Alph and Donna flew after him as he leaped over fallen branches and swerved round old tree trunks. They could hear the Narkwolves panting behind them now, getting closer and closer.

The Doctor suddenly stopped at the base of a tree, which had branches spreading out from the trunk at about ten feet above the ground. He cupped his hands in front of him, and yelled

"Donna! Leg up!"

In less time than she thought possible, she had put her foot in his hands and been catapulted up to the lowest branch. She clambered higher, as Alph found a foothold on the other side of the tree, and scrambled up to join her. She looked down as The Doctor made a huge leap into the air, catching hold of the lower branch. As he swung backwards and forwards, getting the momentum up to swing his legs up into the tree, the first Narkwolf reached the clearing they were in.

As he finally grasped hold of the branch with his legs and started to pull himself up, the beast slammed into the bottom of the trunk, shaking the whole thing alarmingly.

Within moments, the clearing was full of the churning, slavering beasts, each trying to get near to the vulnerable prey they had scented. The Doctor finally pulled himself round to a safe sitting position. He grinned at them.

"Good work, Team!"

Alph peered down through the leaves. "They won't give up, you know! My mate Elbin was chased by these when he was a lad. He had to sit it out in a tree for two days, before they scented something else and went off!"

"Well I guess that's it then!" responded Donna

"We'll never reach this Door thing in a couple of hours if we're stuck up a tree surrounded by…..them!" she looked down at their pursuers.

The Doctor was also looking down through the branches. He had that look on his face –the one Donna had seen many times before, when he came face to face with something new.

She turned to Alph.

"Any minute now, he's going to say they're…!"

"Beautiful!" The Doctor finished for her.

"But they are Donna –look! All that power, and intelligence! They can smell their prey up to five miles away. Probably how they found shaggy coats are quite waterproof, you know…."

"More importantly – how are we going to get past them?"

She interrupted his admiration of all things Narkwolf.

"Working on it, Donna, working on it!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Donna was getting uncomfortable where bits of branches were sticking into her hips and back. The Narkwolves were still swirling around the base of the tree, with no sign of losing interest.

The Doctor had been fishing about in his pockets, pulling out one thing after another, peering at them, then putting them away again, whilst muttering to himself. Every now and then he peered down at the creatures below, as if looking for inspiration. He sat back and ran his fingers distractedly through his hair.

"Aah!" he cried suddenly, reaching deep inside his coat for something.

He looked up at his companions with a triumphant expression.

" Sandwich anyone?"

"Sandwich?" echoed Donna. "This is no time for a picnic!"

"Oh! Ok then!" he answered cheerfully, and she noticed he seemed to be holding a ham sandwich in his hand. He proceeded to peel the top layer off the sandwich, take out the meat, and drop it to the ground beneath them.

Instantly, the Narkwolves fell on the pieces of meat greedily, growling and pushing at each other to get to the titbit. The Doctor looked inordinately pleased.

"So – they like ham! Where does that get us? Won't they just hang around longer to see if there's more?"

Donna's peeved questions were probably as much prompted by her sore back as by The Doctor's actions.

The Doctor was fishing around inside his coat again. He drew out a small round object, and Donna saw that it was an alarm clock. He prised open the back, and proceeded to pull out the mechanism, and began to Sonic it. He looked up at Alph.

"You still got that cricket ball?" he asked.

Alph nodded and fished in his own pocket for the ball. He handed it over, looking intrigued. The Doctor held the Sonic against the stitching, and as they watched, it began to unravel. He pulled the top layers of the ball away to reveal a mechanism couched inside.

"Is that what sent out the distress call?" asked Alph.

The Doctor nodded, as he began to fiddle with it. He pulled most of it away, and discarded it, before pushing the workings from the alarm clock into the resulting space. A few moments later he had replaced the covering of the ball and sealed it with the Sonic.

He handed the ball to Donna while he put everything else away, and then fished out a second ham sandwich. Seeing the look she was giving him, he retorted

"I thought we might be hungry – stuck in a maze for goodness knows how long."

He again pulled the ham out from the sandwich and , taking hold of the ball again, he proceeded to wipe the ham all over its surface.

"Don't tell me!" cried Alph

"They bite into the ball and it explodes –blowing them to pieces!"

"Oh Alph! Did I teach you nothing?" admonished The Doctor.

"We don't need to kill them –just distract them!"

He scrambled to his feet, balancing on two branches, and holding on to a third with his left hand. He swung his right arm round experimentally.

"I used to be a really good bowler –wonder if I've still got it?"

With that he gave his arm a last swing and bowled over arm, sending the ball hurtling into the forest. A couple of the Narkwolves saw it go, and began sniffing the air in the direction in which it was heading. After a moment they headed off in pursuit, attracting the attention of the others. They too sniffed the air, before galloping off after their leaders. They could hear growling and crashing sounds, as the beasts scrambled over each other and various obstacles in the hunt for the ball.

As they listened from their vantage point in the tree, it seemed as if the noise was moving further away all the time. The Doctor was flexing his bowling arm, and looking very pleased with himself.

"Oh, yesss!" he cried, as his plan seemed to be working.

"What did you do to the ball then?" asked Alph.

"Oh I just added a clockwork mechanism - fully wound - that will ensure it keeps moving for at least a couple of hours –giving us time to find this Great Door."

They quietly jumped down from the tree, and made their way back to the path. It was much darker now – the time before dawn, as The Doctor had said.

They were going to have to move


End file.
